Decideware Agency Lifecycle Management Thought-Leadership

Whitepaper: Scope of Work, the Right Team on the Right Business

Learn how breaking out the constituent parts of the Scope of Service/Scope of Work process and applying a disciplined, centralized approach provides beneﬁts at every level.

It helps marketers to clearly articulate what they are looking for, provides the agency an accurate guide to which they can respond and provides procurement/ﬁnance with a clear picture of the cost and value drivers that underpin the fee component.

In providing a central process that helps the three parties make informed decisions, it impacts both the eﬃciency and eﬀectiveness of the client agency relationship.

In providing a communication bridge that drives the marketing work process, it represents a lever in the marketing supply management chain that delivers tremendous return on investment

Knowledge is Power: How a Good Scope of Work Program Can Benefit an Organization

Data is power. But how can any Marketing Procurement organization get this “power”?

The key is to have a solid and powerful Scope of Work Program where your agencies also benefit.A robust Scope of Work Program requires a standardized process when scoping work with Agencies and a meaningful Scope Structure for capturing pertinent information on each Scope across the Agency portfolio.

But how does one initiate a Scope of Work Program into an Organization?

Using Agency Optimization to Support Brand Goals

Armed with the right data, agency management practitioners can create greater value for their organizations.

There tends to be a cyclical movement in regard to where an agency optimization function sits within an organization, but it usually resides in either the marketing or procurement group. Regardless of where the program sits within an organization, the idea around optimizing the agency partnership has evolved from a focus on process efficiencies and cost savings to real opportunities for marketing procurement and marketing operations to partner with brand marketers to create additional value for executive stakeholders and the business at large.

eBook: How to apply Business Intelligence to Marketing Procurement and Agency Management

In this eBook, we look at the red-hot area of Business Intelligence/Data Analytics and speciﬁcally how it can be applied to marketing procurement and agency management decisions. Topics covered include:

The importance of eﬃciently collecting data

Why data visualization is so vital

The beneﬁts of dashboards

10 steps you should take to get started

We also look at pragmatic case studies of how this theory is being applied in the agency management domain while examining two critical areas; Scope of Work and Agency Performance Evaluation processes.

Decideware is the accredited, industry platform deployed by advertisers to manage their agencies. Designed for enterprise — clients subscribe to a suite of robust, scalable software solutions; gain access to a range of highly expert services; engage all their stakeholders; and build valuable data assets to inform decision making.

Whitepaper: Agency Evaluation, what we've learned from the world's best advertisers

Given Decideware’s close involvement with the evaluation programs of advertisers all around the world, we are often asked what lessons we have learned.

What is the best way to implement and manage an agency relationship review program? What is agency relationship evaluation best practice? In other words—what have we learned from the world's best advertisers?

While all of our clients have their own unique methodology and approach to agency relationship reviews, we have been able to identify some common characteristics which we believe represent best practice.

Whitepaper: 360-degree Agency Evaluation, can you handle the truth?

In this paper, explore all aspects of the 360-degree feedback process. Understand that if incorporated into a robust evaluation program, the 360 can be one of the most powerful tools we have available to improve client/agency relationship performance, minimize inefficiencies and reduce costs.

Certainly, it is a sensitive area and if handled incorrectly can cause more harm than good. Without a collaborative and positive approach, it can degenerate into finger-pointing and ultimately lose any value it could generate.

However, with a foundation of trust, a healthy dose of training & communication and support by appropriate processes & technology, this is an exciting and innovative way to dramatically affect the power of your marketing effectiveness.

Insights Brief: Agency Performance Evaluation

"ANA Insight Brief: Building an Agency Performance Management Program" by Richard Benyon and Steven Wales overviews why companies should implement an agency performance management program as well as the key elements involved to create a sound program.

A successful program should be both efficient, without placing too much a burden on the participants and senior management; and effective, aligned with the goals of the marketing organization and producing measurable data.

Magazine: 2016 ANA Thought Leadership

"Surging Ahead: Getting stronger, faster, and better together. Trends and best practices for agency evaluations that build strong client-agency relationships." In this article, Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, guides readers through agency evaluation and emerging trends that may become mainstream in 2020. The article looks at key areas of interest and best practices for developing an agency evaluation that get results and meets company goals including:

2015 WFA / Decideware Business Intelligence Survey

The World Federation of Advertisers & Decideware conducted a survey of major advertisers. The survey, conducted in May 2015, sought to understand the key stakeholders and processes that companies utilize to manage data.

The survey, sent to a sample of their member companies globally in early 2015, provided a number of insights into the beliefs and behaviours of marketing procurement executives with respect to the importance of using data to make key decisions.

The results of the survey are compelling, with the majority of the respondents understanding the importance of data when making key decisions. Interestingly, 88%of companies, also responded that they could make better decisions if they had access to more robust data. And yet only 19% of companies surveyed indicated that they felt that their Business Intelligence practice had reached a higher level of maturity.

Magazine: 2014 ANA Thought Leadership Magazine

Articles on Marketing Procurement & Production

"Similar But Different, the Unique Challenges of Marketing Procurement" by Richard Benyon explores the key similarities between Marketing Procurement and Procurement – and argues that while there are distinctions in the marketing environment there are tools and techniques that can be successfully applied across both business environments.

"Making the Most of Your Production Spend" also by Richard Benyon furthers the argument that value and not lowest cost should be the goal of successful production spend management, and that access to reliable, timely production spend data is necessary to allow reliable analyses.

Survey: 2014 WFA/Decideware Scope of Work Survey

The World Federation of Advertisers & Decideware conducted a survey of major advertisers. The survey sought to provide a better understanding of important issues regarding how major advertisers manage their scope of work programs.

The survey, sent to a sample of their member companies across Europe in February 2014, provided a number of insights into the beliefs and behaviours of marketing procurement executives managing scope of work programs.

Magazine: 2013 ANA Thought Leadership Magazine

Articles on Agency Management & Briefing

"Optimizing Agency Teams: A Decade of Change" by Richard Benyon explores the new models for managing multiple agencies to ensure that there is one voice for the client across all consumer touchpoints. The article also touches on the key processes that can assist in the implementation of these new agency models.

"How to Build an Effective Briefing Program" also by Richard Benyon explores the argument that the better the brief, the better the work that will come out of your agency. The article touches on the three key elements for creating a successful briefing program as well as key traits that comprise a quality program.

Magazine: 2012 ANA Thought Leadership Magazine

Articles on Marketing Agency Management

"3 Important Ways Procurement Can Add Value for their Marketing Stakeholders" by Richard Benyon addresses the rise in importance of marketing agency management (MAM), generally described as a blend of procurement and finance processes that allow an organization to better manage its external marketing investment. This article dives into the three ways MAM can add value to marketing and leverages these strategies.

"3 Strong Foundations" extends this discussion and looks at three important foundations that need to be put in place: people, processes, and systems, in order to extract maximum value from client-agency relationships.

Magazine: 2011 ANA Thought Leadership Magazine

Article on Agency Relationship

"Beyond Cost and Rates: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Value of Agency Relationship" by Steven Wales overviews the value of agency relationship and looking beyond the traditional theory of cutting costs. The article explores the "value equation" which views the overall worth of each individual agency relationship.

In "Driving Performance: Key Insights on How to Maximize an Agency Evaluation Program", Richard Benyon interviews Ken Lloyd, author of Performance Appraisals and Phrases for Dummies for his perspective on agency evaluation programs and how to maximize the evaluation process.

Decideware-at-a-Glance Infographic

Decideware's "At-A-Glance" Infographic overviews the Decideware offering as well as our client base and management team. Decideware's Agency Lifecycle Management "Software-as-a-Service" platform consists of five modules and our new Business Intelligence Solution which help advertisers manage their relationships. We also offer a range of expert services to help make you successful.

Decideware works with the top global advertisers and is proud of our relationships with strong industry partners such as the ANA, WFA and an ISBA conference partner.

Decideware Executive Summary

The Decideware Executive Summary overviews Decideware's Agency Lifecycle Management Platform and how each module integrates with one another to help advertisers manage a highly productive relationship with their agencies.The Executive Summary explains each module in detail and its role in the agency lifecycle.

Decideware's Business Intelligence Solution

Decideware's Business Intelligence Solution

"Decideware BI" is our new Business Intelligence solution that provides advanced analytics, data visualization through custom-developed dashboards. Unlock the power of your marketing procurement and agency management data.

Decideware's Agency Lifecycle Management Platform

This video provides an overview of the Decideware Agency Lifecycle Platform. Cloud-based software that helps major advertisers manage the spend, performance, and overall relationship with their marketing and communication agencies.

Decideware's Creative & Assignment Briefing Module

Magazine: 2016 ANA Thought Leadership

"Surging Ahead: Getting stronger, faster, and better together. Trends and best practices for agency evaluations that build strong client-agency relationships." In this article, Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, guides readers through agency evaluation and emerging trends that may become mainstream in 2020. The article looks at key areas of interest and best practices for developing an agency evaluation that get results and meets company goals including:

Scope of Work: The Right People For The Righ Business

As with other professional services categories the Scope of Work process is becoming ever more important in managing marketing spend. A well-controlled Scope of Work program is an integral part of a robust framework for planning and communication between client and agency.

The Scope of Work / Scope of Service process (referred to generically as SOW in this document) generates a wide range of benefits.